Tam Ki had shared the Good News and established his ministry in wider districts of his country, and there were increasing number of people who had accepted the Lord as their personal saviour. In this last episode of Tam Ki’s story, we shall see that Tam Ki had lived his life to glorify God’s name.  

Whenever Tam Ki travelled to Yangon or Mandalay, he would pass through Pakokku, a flourishing city bustling with commerce on the western bank of the Irrawaddy River. One day towards the end of 1994, Tam Ki passed through Pakokku and the Lord said to him, “Tam Ki, you must build a church in Pakokku.”  Tam Ki shook his head and decided that this idea was just not sustainable. He reasoned that the locals here were too resistant to the Gospel. And the hot climate in this semi-desert environment was too unbearable. With a heavy heart, he committed the matter to the Lord.  The Lord replied, “I am with you. You must do whatever I instruct you. Go and look!”  Tam Ki sprang to his feet and went out of the guesthouse he was lodging in. He walked straight down the dirt track until he came to a vacant plot of land with a bamboo fence round it. Convinced that the Holy Spirit had led him to this place, Tam Ki stopped and prayed.

Several months later, Tam Ki passed through Pakokku again with Pastor Cho Kee Thang. They went to the same site and prayed for the Lord’s guidance about starting a mission centre there. On the way back to the guesthouse, a stranger greeted him and asked if Tam Ki wanted to buy any land. The young man took Tam Ki to meet his uncle, U Win Kyi, a rich businessman. Delighted to see a potential buyer, U Win Kyi asked about Tam Ki’s background. The businessman exclaimed, “You are a Chin Christian! Then I trust you. I am selling the land for only 400,000 kyats.” It turned out that it was the same piece of land that Tam Ki and Pastor Cho Kee Thang had prayed for. As Tam Ki did not have the funds, the owner was happy to discuss the matter again once he had raised the funds. The next day, Tam Ki continued his journey to Mandalay where he was going to personally invite guests to attend the dedication service of the new church building at Mindat.

At Mandalay, Tam Ki stayed with a godly couple, U La Raw and Daw Nan Din. They greeted he with an offering of 200,000 kyats! So, the following day Tam Ki hurried back to Pakokku and handed over the money to U Win Kyi. They signed the legal documents for the transfer of the land. Impressed that Tam Ki could raised so much money in a short time, U Win Kyi was gracious enough to let Tam Ki take his time to pay the remaining 200,000kyats.

Tam Ki returned to Mindat. The following week, he went to the town’s telephone exchange to call the couple to inform them that he had used their generous love gift to purchase a piece of land at Pakokku for mission work. To his surprise, Daw Nan Din said they had another 200,000 kyats  waiting for him!

Believers at Mindat were overjoyed that the Lord had provided a plot of land for His mission work among other ethnic groups in the country. They were all amazed at how the Lord had provided the exact amount of money to pay for the land.

Soon word got around that Tam Ki was going to build a mission centre at Pakokku. Kee Thang, a young believer from Pyung, came to him. He had been sick with bladder problems for quite some time. The doctors had given up treating him. He said life for him was meaningless. It was better to die serving God in the mission field. Although he could not do strenuous work, he could still cook and pray for Tam Ki. Tam Ki happily accepted Kee Thang’s offer, trusting that the Lord would take care of them both.

Work began at the new Pakokku land. By the day, they cleared the land. At night, they slept on a mat under a tree. There were many snakes and stinging insects. They pitched the mosquito net over the mat to prevent snakes from slithering in. Not a single day passed by without killing snakes. One evening, Tam Ki killed 14 snakes.

As the months passed, Kee Thang’s appetite improved and he began to look better. Doctors confirmed that he had been completely healed of his bladder problems. Thankful to the Lord for healing him and keen to start life anew with his restored health, Kee Thang bid Tam Ki farewell and went back to his village. A year later, Kee Thang married and in time, the Lord blessed the couple with three children.

Due to the lack of funds, a temporary bamboo hut was erected on the Pakokku plot with the intention of constructing a permanent concrete buiilding once the necessary funds were raised. Worship services began. Pakokku Evangelistic Mission Centre opened with a woman teacher, her two sons and some carpenters Tam Ki hired to work on the building. Their first convert was U Ling Om, a one-legged alcoholic. After surrendering himself to the Lord, his cravings for the bottle stopped and he turned up faithfully at the church each day at 5am to pray till this day.

One day, as Tam Ki returned from a trip to Mandalay, he was greeted by his wife and son-in-law Ha Hung, both distraught. They had come to help out with the new church building at Pakokku. His wife told him, “We’ve been robbed! Everything’s been taken!” Not even our clothes, rice, food, cooking pots or kitchen utensils had been overlooked. With no food, the three prayed and fasted.

After fasting for three days, a good friend, Rev Dam Suan Mung, a pastor at Full Gospel Assembly Church in Yangon called Tam Ki. They heard about the robbery and collected 300,000 kyats for him. With this money, Tam Ki was able to pay off a substantial part of debts on the project. The Lord had indeed turned a robbery into showers of great blessing for His new mission centre!

By the grace of God, the construction of the concrete church building was completed in November 1998. By then, they had eight families worshipping at Pakokku Evangelistic Mission Centre. During the dedication service, 12 new believers were baptised. Most of them were construction workers who were converted while labouring on the site. Tam Ki’s son-in-law Ha Hung and his eldest daughter Ki Ti took over as pastors at the church. Ha Hung led the church for three years before his untimely death. After that, the church was led by two women pastors – Ki Ti and Hah Hung’s sister, Ha Yawng. By 2010, the church had 20 families.

The church has sent out many church planters, pastors and missionaries into the neighbouring regions of Myanmar and as far as Kuala Lumpur in West Malaysia. “It is my experience that the Lord never burdens us with visions that we cannot achieve. We must seek the Lord and be sent by His voice. Receiving directives from Him has been vital to my ministry.”

One early morning in 1994, Tam Ki was awaken by the Lord’s command, “Tam Ki, go and preach the Good News in a foreign country. Get up and be prepared!” Tam Ki was excited with this new assignment as, being a jungle man, he had never dared dream of visting a foreign country. But it wasn’t until three years later when Tam Ki was invited by Pastor Solomon to be guest speaker in various cities in Australia. Rev Sian Cin Thang went with him as interpreter and they arrived in Brisbane in April 1997. Pastor Solomon had set up an ambitious itinerary. There were speaking engagements at Harvest Bible College in Melbourne and at Commonwealth Bible College in Sydney, and evangelistic rallies in Brisbane and Adelaide.

During the five weeks that Tam Ki was in Australia, he spoke at over 40 meetings and countless small groups. There were healings and deliverances. Tam Ki really had to lean on the Holy Spirit for guidance as he knew no English. But Rev Sian Cin Thang, who had a theological degree from Harvest Bible College, was an excellent interpreter. He also showed Tam Ki how to use the modern facilities and was invaluable in helping him understand Western culture.

They stopped over in Singapore for two weeks on the way back to Myanmar. And this was Tam Ki’s first trip to Singapore. He was invited to preach in Charis Assembly of God Church. This church had a small Myanmese congregation, some of whom knew Tam Ki from the evangelistic trips he had made around Myanmar. Tam Ki felt a certain affinity with this garden city even though he had no relatives or close friends there.

Tam Ki discovered that Myanmese Christians, mainly migrant workers, were meeting in a number of congregations throughout Singapore. Tam Ki realised that there were no limits to where and how God can work in people’s hearts. If people do not come to church to seek the Lord, He is able to call out to his lost children in any situation, regardless of where they are.

In 2003, the Lord impressed on Tam Ki to start new missions in different parts of Myanmar. He was apprehensive. Most of his work had been in and around Chin State. He was worried about supporting his missionaries and their families. As Tam Ki prayed, he heard the Lord say, “Tam Ki, translate your testimony into English. Publish this throughout the whole world to glorify My name.” A Swedish missionary in Yangon offered to make arrangements for his testimony booklet to be published and Tam Ki had an offer of help with the translation. But, due to a number of circumstances, the project came to a standstill.

It was two years later that Tam Ki again invited to Singapore. This time, he met a Singaporean businessman who showed a keen interest in his mission work and promised some financial support. However, this did not materialise and Tam Ki was utterly disappointed.

In faith, Tam Ki had already sent one missionary out into the country and made arrangements for three others to go. He really needed God to provide for them. Not for the first time, pledges of support came to nothing. Tam Ki discovered it took a great deal of discernment to know when help was from the Spirit of God and when offered from other motives.

One Sunday, again in Singapore, Tam Ki was introduced to a petite, bespectacled woman at the church. As soon as Tam Ki saw her, he knew she was sent by the Lord. As Lim Min got to know Tam Ki, her shyness lifted and she inundated him with many questions concerning how the Lord raised him from the dead.

When Tam Ki next visited Singapore in 2007, his son was able to act as his interpreter. He talked to Lim Min about translating his book into English. Peering through her glasses, she said quite matter-of-factly said, “Oh, writing is not my cup of tea!” She brushed the subject aside and started probing Tam Ki about his background. She was curious about the little-known K’cho culture of the Chin Hills. She wanted to know about everything from the spirit worshipping customs of his forefathers to the age-old tradition of facial tattoo practised by their womenfolk. Tam Ki had never met a woman so detailed and passionate in her pursuit of knowledge. One day, she said, “Tam Ki, I guess I will have to be your writer.”  Tam Ki nodded approvingly. At last!

Long hours of rigorous interviews ensued, accompanied by various interpreters. Lim Min left no stone unturned. Never had Tam Ki been subjected to this amount of scrutiny by a woman.

And the Lord used her in other amazing ways as well! It turned out Lim Min became an ardent supporter of Tam Ki’s ministry and even coordinated financial support for Tam Ki’s mission work and Hallelujah Bible School till this day. Tam Ki was glad that the Lord did not use a wealhty or influential person but a God-fearing woman from this small island country to release so much energy into his calling. What the Lord promises, He certainly will brings to completion. Nothing can thwart the Lord’s plans.

And what about you? Do you know the gift of salvation that God has offered you? Have you considered the role you can play in extending His kingdom on earth? Tam Ki cannot pray for everyone in the world but he can pray for you, dear listener.

“Heavenly Father, I thank you for choosing, preparing and using my reader for Your kingdom. May You use this book to convict and touch my brother or sister. Open their eyes to see Your goodness and the reality of Your unconditional love so that they may believe in You and feel secure that they will spend eternity in Your presence. In Jesus’ precious name I pray, Amen!”

This is the end of our episodes of Tam Ki’s From Darkness to Glorious Light, but his story and ministry are still on-going in bringing more souls into God’s Kingdom. It is Tam Ki’s greatest desire that his testimony will encourage listeners to seek the Lord wholeheartedly in all seasons of life. May the mighty works of the Lord inpsire you and be a testamnet to His Glory! Good Bye!

With Courtesy –

Song: The Mission

Composer: Jon Mohr & John Randall Dennis

Arrangment: Bill Wolaver